In a conventional constant speed holding or cruise control device of this type, a connecting structure for operatively connecting an actuator to a throttle link by means of a wiring device includes a rod mounted on an end of a wire and inserted into a through-hole formed in a metal connector which is formed by bending up a metal disc fixedly secured to a diaphram of the actuator.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1a, in the conventional connecting structure, the metal connector 2 has a rectangular upper plate 2a and a rectangular lower plate 2b which are parallel with and spaced from each other, and which are formed by bending out two tabs of a metal disc 1 fixedly secured to the diaphram of the actuator. The upper and lower plates 2a and 2b are formed with circular through-holes 3a and 3b having a common center axis, respectively. Therefore, the circular through-holes 3a and 3b formed in the upper and the lower plates 2a and 2b are positioned in complete coincidence with each other when viewed vertically.
A notch 4 is formed in the upper plate 2a which extends from a side edge of the plate to the through-hole 3a. The notch 4 is used as a guide groove for a wire to be described. On the other hand, the wire device 6 includes a wire 6a having one end mounting a circular rod 6b whose diameter is suitable to be inserted into the through-holes 3a and 3b. That is, the one end of the wire 6a is fixedly secured to substantially a center of the rod 6b such that the longitudinal axis of the rod 6b and the axis of the wire 6a are orthogonal, as shown in FIG. 1b, and thus the rod 6b and the wire 6a are mutually fixed to form a generally T shape.
In assembling the wire device 6 with the connector 2, the rod 6b is held above the upper plate 2a with the wire 6b being arranged along the notch 4 of the upper plate 2a and then inserted into the through-hole 3a of the upper plate 2a and into the through-hole 3b of the lower plate 2b while the wire 2 is allowed to pass through the notch 4. When the lower end of the rod 6b is inserted into the through-hole 3b and the upper end of the rod is positioned at the through-hole 3a of the upper plate 2a, the wire 6a together with the rod 6b is turned by 90.degree. to a position shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 1a. Thus, the assembly of the wire 6a and the connector 2 is completed.
In such assembly operation there is no problem if the rod 6b is inserted along the center axis of the through-holes 3a and 3b thereinto. However, when the rod 6b is inserted into the through-hole 3a with an inclination with respect to the center axis, the lower end of the rod can not be inserted into the through-hole 3b of the lower plate 2b exactly, and an edge of the lower end of the rod rides on the periphery of the through-hole 3b. If the wire 6a is turned to make it orthogonal to the plane of the diaphram, the wire may drop off from the connector 2 when the actuator is operated, or the wire 6a may be broken by repeated operations.
The present invention was made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a reliable constant speed holding device for a vehicle, in which the assembly and disassembly of the wire device with respect to the connector are facilitated and the erroneous insertion of the rod mounted on the end of the wire is prevented.